Dune: Blood Savior
by Misty Alana
Summary: Takes place seventeen years after Dune Messiah. The Bene Gesserit are plotting to destroy the Atreides. They didn't count on someone who was never supposed to be born but wants to change the destiny of Dune-Alia and Duncan's daughter.
1. Chapter 1

Reverend Mother Mishka Adelle Luishenn stared moodily at the sight of Arrakis through the film projections against the walls of the Guild Highlighner. No one but a Bene Gesserit adept such as herself would be able to detect her anger, however, her body was still and serene and her face emotionless. Shael, her protégé, listened carefully to the instructions being given by the other Reverend Mother on board, Alleré Corsaint.

"As you should know, the desert is dwindling, taking the sandworms with it. With the worms, so goes the spice. Without spice, civilized life will collapse and we will all be at the mercy of those wretched Atreides." Alleré paused, inhaling deeply the scent of mélange, which wafted through the air from her cup of spice tea. "Even more at their mercy than we already are. Which is why it is imperative that we regain control of the bloodline and infiltrate the palace at Arakeen."

"Forgive me, Reverend Mother, if my questions are inappropriate," Shael replied, her violet eyes focused on her mentor. "But you speak these plans as if they are easily accomplished. How is it possible that the Regent would ever let us gain control of Muad'dib's bloodline? She cannot be tricked or persuaded. And don't we already have Bene Gesserits in the palace?"

"Yes, of course," Alleré put on a tone of impatience, but in actuality she was proud of her young charge for having the courage to voice her opinions and know the realities of a situation. "But Alia knows that certain power comes with allying herself with the Sisterhood. Her hold on power is fragile, at best. The Guild wants control of the spice again. The Corrino family and that shrew Wensicia and her bastard want to claim their right to the throne. Fremen rebels want to overthrow Atreides power and the changing of the desert. Alia doesn't have much choice."

"What do we have that she wants?" Shael asked. Alleré made a mental note to herself to have a long talk with the girl about her impertinence. Knowledge was important, but too much could be treacherous. Shael was a valuable tool, but a tool nonetheless, programmed to perform a specific job. The less she knew about the why and how, the better.

"Alia wants power in any form she can get it," Mishka turned from the window and faced her Sisters. "If the rumors are true, Alia has succumbed to Abomination. She no longer seeks to protect the twins but to supplant them. She works for herself not the Atreides. She will be easy to control."

"But there will still be the twins," Shael observed. "And the Lady Jessica will arrive in one week."

"The Lady Jessica," Mishka spat. "If only I could kill her with my bare hands. Do you see, you see what happens when you betray your destiny? When you are arrogant and take matters into your own hands?"

"We must not underestimate her," Alleré warned. "She may also be able to help her daughter reclaim herself." Mishka digested this while sipping her spice tea.

" What about Alia's daughter?" Shael asked. "You never mention her. What is she like?"

"That useless female?" Mishka scoffed. Her voice was brittle and hard, grown bitter from years on Wallach IX plotting the overthrow of the Atreides, which never came to fruition. "A useless waste of genetics. Not even fit for breeding. Who wants the chemicals and axlotl waters of the Tleilaxu cursing through their veins? That wench will be killed with little resistance," Mishka concluded with a wave of her hand.

"And we must kill her," Alleré agreed. "Or else there is the danger that Alia will marry her to Leto so she can maintain control and keep any outside houses from gaining power."

"I don't understand," Shael said, furrowing her brow. "If she is a weak link shouldn't we seek her out as a way in to the Atreides? Can't we easily use her?"

"Don't concern yourself with it," Alleré replied. She was younger than Mishka, though not quite as young as Shael. Even without her soft auburn hair and light grey eyes, she knew she had a seductive power beyond ordinary women. As a breeding mother for the Bene Gesserit, she had spent most of her time forming alliances and unions offworld, only returning to Wallach to give birth. She had delivered ten daughters to the Bene Gesserit thus far. With Gauis Helen Mohiam dead, she had become the leader of the Kwisatz Haderach project that had not been abandoned because of Paul Muad'dib. Alleré still dreamt of a superbeing that belonged to the Sisterhood and could overthrow this Atreides monopoly on spice. Muad'dib was dead. It was time for a new messiah. She believed her young pupil, Shael, was the key to the next generation.

"You know your part to play, young one," She said, touching Shael's soft cheek. The girl nodded. She wasn't really that young. Shael was twenty-eight, but Bene Gesserit muscle and body control made her barely appear older than fifteen.

"I know," She answered. "Seduce Leto Atreides and conceive a son."

"It won't be easy," Mishka warned. Inwardly she smirked at the irony of the situation, that the Sisterhood would again be dependent on a child of a Bene Gesserit and Leto Atreides. She only hoped her Shael would make the right decisions and not defect like the Lady Jessica.

"Shael, you should resume your studies", Alleré said, her tone making it obvious that the meeting was over, and that she wanted Shael to leave so that more complex and secret plans could be discussed between her and Mishka.

"Yes, Reverend Mother." Shael curtsied respectfully and left the room.

"She is too sentimental," Mishka surmised thoughtfully. "She probably won't survive this." Alleré shook her head, grimacing.

"I hate to waste such a valuable tool," she said. "But she has to be the one."

"She isn't so valuable," Mishka argued. The Reverend Mother was fond of the girl, but dismayed by her stubborn naivete and unruly emotions. Leto will know our plans. If she succeeds it won't be based on her merit, but the choices he will have and what he knows must occur." Alleré nodded, careful not to contradict the older, more volatile Reverend Mother. She regretted the sacrifice of such a beautiful, intelligent girl. Alleré was only a few years older than Shael but had been key in her growth and development. With the universe in disarray and the Sisters scrambling to protect their right to the spice, it had been up to Alleré to train Shael, and be like an older sister to her. All in preparation for this assignment.

"She will fall in love with Leto," Alleré predicted with a sigh. "He is young and attractive, and powerful. We will either lose her to him, or have to be rid of her somehow after the child is born."

"It will make our plans run all the more smoothly if she develops an attachment," Mishka stated confidently. "All we need is Leto's child. Then we can kill off the Atreides one by one like the vermin they are." Alleré stared out at the vast desert of Arrakis and shuddered. This planet was the curse of all civilization. Sometimes she wanted to damn the spice and see it be torn apart into pieces and lost forever to the abyss of space.

She would have to satisfy herself by destroying those that controlled it.

Leto Atreides II laid against the cold floor of Sietch Tabr, gazing up through a split in the rocks at the Guild Hieghliner preparing to depart for Dune.

"We are not what they will expect," his sister Ghanima observed. Leto laughed lightly, inhaling the scent of mélange and grinning at his sister. They were fifteen and months away from claiming the throne away from the regency of their aunt, Alia.

"What should they expect? How can anyone predict the pre-born?" He threw a handful of pebbles against the stone walls. "We need to be one step ahead of them. We know what they want. A Bene Gesserit product on the throne."

"But one that is also Atreides," Ghanima added. "They could never expect to overthrow us completely. There are too many loyal subjects, there is too much that has happened…" Her voice trailed off, leading into memory and then returned. "They will try to use one of us to create a hybrid child."

"You, me, or Alia," Leto agreed. "Ariana's blood is contaminated by their views. They would never want the danger of putting someone with Tleilaxu blood in power."

"Alia is increasingly erratic," Ghanima pointed out. "She may be easier to manipulate."

"But we are the direct line." Leto rubbed his chin. "Either way, they are coming, sister, and will be staying. Alia will let them because she is grasping for power any way she can get it.. They will try to get to me through sex, by bringing some attractive Bene Gesserit trained to be seductive. They will try to create friction between us and convince Alia that we are possessed." Ghanima digested this.

"That seems too simple," she said. "Sex as a weapon. Surely they know you cannot be so easily fooled by seduction and physical beauty."

"It's deceptively simple," Leto disagreed. "To lull me into a false security. Make me feel like I have them figured out. Then they will change the game. Remember, in some ways we want the same things. An Atreides heir. But one more connected to the other realms of power. A cessation of the Jihad and the wars fighting across the universe. We don't need to be mortal enemies. We can use them as they will use us."

"But they will try to kill Ariana to be rid of complications," Ghanima said. "And Jessica as well."

"Which we cannot let happen," Leto said. "They will all have a part to play before this is over. They are all part of our destiny."

Ariana Atreides studied her face in the circular mirror hanging above her desk searching for the telltale Atreides facial features. She had neither the hawk-like facial structure or the aquiline nose of Duke Leto Atreides I. She did have the Lady Jessica's wide, sensuous lips and dark bronze hair, but she looked more like her father than any Atreides. Her father's genetics shone through her, but no one knew where his lineage led.

Ariana sighed, thinking of the three hour Council meeting she had just sat through. Alia's priests and the naibs disputed when the title of emperor should be handed to Leto, whether at sixteen he was old enough to take on the responsibility. Who he should take for a wife, or at least a concubine. She had listened to Stilgar speak angrily about the disintegration of the desert and probable extinction of the sandworms.

_Don't they see we need to learn to live without spice!_ Ariana raged inwardly. _Don't they see that any civilization built on the existence of one product can never flourish? We need to prepare to be without mélange!_

She thought about what she wanted. Power, not for the sake of power, but because she feared what Leto would do when he became emperor. He frightened her, with what he knew. Even for a pre-born he was unique in his knowledge of ancestors and times past. He also attracted her, with his cold calculating intelligence and reckless bravery. When she saw him, her skin cried out for him to take her as his concubine.

I _want to bear Leto's child_, Ariana let herself admit. Not only based on her infatuation, but it would cement her place in the Atreides lineage. She would no longer be the forgotten abomination, the half-human offspring of the possessed, the imperfect heir. A child by Leto would guarantee the Atreides survival. In a way she could honor her mother and uphold Alia's importance, but still take the Holy Regent's powers away. She could prove that a ghola father did have his reasons for still being in the world.

Ariana had stayed at the palace in Arakeen most of her life, while Leto and Ghanima had primarily lived at Sietch Tabr. Ariana's eyes did not even bear the blue-in-blue of spice addiction, but were a rich brown.

_That is one other reason the people distrust me, _she thought. _I'm not Fremen enough. But don't they see, I don't need to have all blue eyes and live in the sietch to be Fremen. I have a million Fremen ancestors within me. I remember the desert. I remember the years of Harkonnen oppression. I remember walking through the open bled in a stillsuit, calling for a worm. I have drunk the Water of Life. I have participated in the orgies. I have drunk the water from the death stills. I am Fremen. It is all within me. _

_"_Ariana?" Her father's voice interrupted her thought. Duncan Idaho put a hand on his daughter's cheek, studying her face. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, Father," she answered.

"I hope you haven't taken to the spice trance like your mother," he said cautiously, but knowing instinctively that Ariana abhorred her mother's methods of prescience.

"No, Father." Impulsively, she hugged him, feeling affection for him wash across her. He was the only one she truly trusted, the only one who understood her. Her mother had never married him, holding out for a better political opportunity. At the moment she was in talks to marry Prince Farad'n of House Corrino. Rather than pass the opportunity of a profitable match with House Corrino to her daughter, she was considering it herself.

_They wouldn't accept me anyway, _Ariana thought bitterly. _Not for the heir. Nor for any family's heir. Maybe some second son. But an heir needs pure, noble blood. _

Duncan looked at his daughter, guessing the train of her thoughts. Would his original self have created this brilliant child? Would the first and true Duncan have loved Alia? Could he have stopped her from entering dark places and losing her hold on herself?

This Duncan felt lost and misplaced in this world. He had devoted his life to serving the Atreides only they didn't need anyone to protect them. Paul was gone, and not just him but the Paul of Duncan's memories. A sweet, curious boy who looked up to Duncan. In his wake he left children Duncan couldn't understand and a sister he loved but could not marry.

"We will prove our worth soon," Ariana said. "We will prove that we are true Atreides, and maybe something more as well."


	2. Chapter 2

Jessica Atreides did not want to take the first step out of her 'thopter. She hesitated, examining the ground and the ripples the 'thopter has made across the sand.

"Do you think the worms still come here?" she asked turning her delicate neck to look quizzically at her companion, Gurney Halleck.

"I don't believe so," he answered. "I hear they stay out in the deep desert now. Not near Arrakeen. Too much water. Too many people."

"Yes," Jessica laughed, but with a touch of bitterness. "People migrate here now. To be in the Holy Land. To be close to Paul, and Dune is what is left of him." Gurney sat still, knowing she needed a moment before stepping out and facing the past.

"I hate this planet, Gurney," she said. "Part of me loves it, because its in my blood from being a Fremen for so many years. But a bigger part of me hates it for the death of my lover, and my son." Gurney nodded, still feeling a lonely pang when he thought of his two friends, especially of Leto, who never lived to see how his son changed the world.

"Perhaps the loss of my daughter as well," Jessica said. "And my grandchildren, whom I feel a stranger to. Perhaps it's unfair, but I blame Dune for that as well. For having such a hold on its Fremen, so that they never wanted to venture as far as Caladan to see me."

"I know, my lady, but there is still time. We came here so that you can know them and help them." Gurney had been a devoted friend and servant for all the time she had lived on Caladan since Paul's ascension. It was commonly believed that they were lovers, but they were not. Gurney would never put personal feelings before his duty, and Jessica's heart still lay fastened in a long dead duke.

"I'm ready, Gurney," she announced and stepped on to the sand. She looked across the desert at Arrakeen. "Are we to walk?"

"Yes, my lady," he answered. "I thought it safest. Arriving at the palace would cause a spectacle and hysterics from Paul's followers…Make it hard to eliminate subterfuge and assassination. This way, we arrive quietly and out of sight." Jessica pulled her hood over her bronze hair and smiled, this time with pleasure.

"Spoken like a true Fremen," she said.

Princess Irulan Corrino-Atreides sat in her study, looking down at her desk with utter frustration. She perused the latest letters from her sister, Wensicia, with no small amount of disdain and contempt. Wensicia begged for help in arranging a marriage between Farad'n and Alia, or Farad'n and Ghanima. The match could ensure a new Atreides/Corrino regime since Irulan and Paul's marriage had failed to withhold any power for the former royal family. Irulan took up her pen, regretting that responding to the letter required time away from her latest novel.

_You need to accept that the era of Corrino power is over, _she wrote. _We cannot go back. Even without Atreides rule, the Landsraad would never accept a return of the old regime. Too much time has passed, too much blood has been shed, too much has changed. It was our father's own fault for losing power. He let the rabid Harkonnen desecrate Dune, and underestimated its importance. He helped murder Leto I, thus creating Muad'Dib who otherwise may have only been simply Paul Atreides._

A pang of regret and sadness ran through her as she wrote about her dead husband. She had wanted to be a wife, and instead was relegated to a useful tool. He had never touched her, never looked on her with kindness.

_But his children love me, _she reassured herself. _If nothing else, I have them. And I will not let my sister of any Corrino, Bene Gesserit, Fremen…or Alia…ever hurt them._

A knock on her door gave Irulan an excuse to lay down her pen.

"Yes?" she called out. Ghanima poked her head in, smiling mischievously.

"Writing a letter to your Corrino siblings?" she asked perceptively. "Secret plots and conspiracies?"

"Don't even joke about that." Ghanima sat beside her and took her hand.

"I don't doubt your loyalty," she said. "In only fear that your devotion and love will blind you from what's coming." Irulan looked at her stepdaughter, wishing she was her own, yet loving her for what she was. Paul and Chani perfectly combined in one beautiful girl. Irulan reached out to touch her soft face.

"I am still Bene Gesserit trained," she said. "And I have lived for years in this palace treading carefully and watchfully. I know how to keep myself safe. And you and Leto. And Ariana. I can keep you safe, always."

"We can keep ourselves safe," Ghanima replied. "You are the most vulnerable of any of us. You aren't preborn, you can't see the way you do. They will see you as the weakest because you are not truly Atreides."

"I am as Atreides as anyone," Irulan answered angrily. "Have I not been your guardian for all these years? Have I not cared for you? I could have returned to the Corrino fold and lived out my years amongst blood relatives."

"But you didn't because you loved my father," Ghanima said. "But love won't protect you. They know you cannot be corrupted. Hence, you will be expendable to them." She didn't have to explain that "them" could mean anyone from Bene Gesserit to the Spacing Guild.

"Promise me, when the time comes, you will do whatever Leto and I say. We are only trying to keep you safe."

"I promise I will do whatever I think is right." Irulan turned back to her letter, indicating that the conversation was at an end. Ghanima stood up to leave, then turned to her stepmother.

"He loves you now, you know," she said. "Not like he loves my mother. But inside me, I can feel him. He loves you for loving us. He knows you didn't have to. He knows you made a sacrifice. And my mother does as well. She loves you for being our mother when she was unable." Ghanima turned and left, leaving Irulan to put her face in her hands, wishing Paul was alive so that he could guarantee his children's safety.

Alleré and Mishka, with Shael walking faithfully behind them, approached Alia ignoring the looks of hatred directed towards them by Stilgar, and his Fremen guards. While her companions were focused on Alia, Shael's eyes darted around taking in everything. The twins sat behind Alia, along with Ariana. They kept their eyes on the elder Bene Gesserits and exchanged looks often, as if they were communicating through telepathy. They were all exceptionally beautiful. Ariana looked like her mother, except more petite. Alia was menacing, tall, with eyes that appeared more purple than blue. Her concubine stood nearby, hand on weapon, ready to jump if anyone threatened a member of the royal family. Irulan stood beside him, looking angry and alarmed.

"Let it be established right away so there is no confusion," Alia stated, looking down at the Bene Gesserit with narrowed eyes. "We rule here, the Bene Gesserit do not. You are guests in our palace because we may have use for each other. But do not think for one second you have earned our trust or our friendship. You will be under constant watch by loyal Fedaykin. Any evidence of subterfuge or plots and you will feel a crysknife slice you in half. Understand?" Alia raised an eyebrow, feeling pleased that she unnerved Alleré and Mishka. She could tell by the look they exchanged and the slight movement of Alleré's left index finger.

"We are here as diplomats only," Mishka replied. "We have no quarrel with the Atreides."

"At the moment,' Alleré added. Alia smiled mockingly, reminding them with her dark eyes who held the power.

"Well then, welcome," she said. She pointed to the twins, who sat nearby, watching intently. "You know who they are, I assume?"

"Certainly," Mishka answered. "It's an honor to meet Muad'Dib;s children. One could not help but respect your great father."

"However much one feared him." Alleré valued honesty more than the elder Bene Gesserit. True, her position required scheming and secret plans, but she felt that with someone like Alia, one could advance their cause by showing their strength and confidence rather than sneaking around.

"What else do you fear, Reverend Mother?" Ghanima spoke up.

"We know the answer to that question," Alia glowered. "The end of spice and eternal Atreides rule. If you want to bargain with us to ensure the survival of the Sisterhood, I would recommend you cooperate and not waste time on insignificant and pathetic little plots."

"A Bene Gesserit not have some underhanded scheme?" Stilgar asked. "Isn't that an oxymoron? Don't the witches thrive on such dishonesty?"

"Don't Atreides?" Alleré countered.

"So brave," Alia sneered. "I wonder if you will learn to regret that mouth?"

"You have introduced yourselves," Leto interjected. "But not the young one behind you. Shall we know who else will be living in our palace?"

"This is Shael," Mishka answered. "Our lovely young protégé. We present her as a gift to the young twins. A companion, and a student."

"A student?" Ghanima spoke up. "Is she not older than us?"

"Older, a bit, yes," Miska replied. "But surely not so advanced. Take her in whatever way it suits you. A student, a friend…"

"A bride?" Alia snapped.

"If that is your wish."

"If you think you gain power by simple seduction-"

"Alia, it's alright," Leto said. "She seems intelligent. I can tell by her eyes. And certainly she is beautiful. I think it will please me to take her under our wing." He smiled at Shael.

"Enough of this." Alia's voice was brittle with annoyance. "You are not our only guests to attend to."

"Oh yes, the Lady Jessica and her devoted companion, Gurney Halleck," Mishka said. "How I would love to meet dear Jessica. The mother of Muad'Dib and a fellow Bene Gesserit!"

"You have no reason to be near my mother," Alia snapped. "She is no longer of your breed."

"Don't you want us to meet her?" Alleré asked. "It would seem so. We have been trying to visit the palace at Arrakeen for years and the first time you welcome us with open arms is also the first time Lady Jessica has turned away from the comfort of Caladan and returned to the harsh realities of Arrakis. Strange, Alia, very strange."

"Strange that you feel you can address me so informally. I wouldn't recommend doing it again"

"Shall we meet the Preacher as well?" Shael asked, speaking for the first time. All heads turned. "I would be interested in seeing such an infamous character."

"What, that old lunatic?" Alia laughed. "Seems your young pupil has skewed priorities. Pays more attention to gossip than her studies."

"Maybe," Mishka said. "Or maybe she has a point? We have all heard of this Preacher who travels throughout Arrakeen berating the Atreides and calling for rebellion. Why hasn't such an antagonist been put to death? I thought the Atreides suffered no dissent."

"He is nothing," Alia replied with a wave of her hand. "Just an old man. Why should we bother?"

"Some say he is Muad'Dib. Isn't that right?" Alleré inquired.

"He is not my brother!" Alia shouted. "My brother is dead."

"Perhaps. Or he has turned against his family."

"You will never mention this little theory to me again. Understood?"

Alia rose from her throne and stepped towards Alleré so that their noses were almost touching. Their eyes clashed, but eventually Alleré had to turn away. No use antagonizing Alia anymore. It was not time for her to show her true colors. Shael had work to do first.


	3. Chapter 3

"I don't know what game you think you're playing," Alia said, towering over Leto and glaring at him. "But it's time to stop. You need to let me deal with these Bene Gesserit."

"Alia, I am going to be an emperor. The time is past where I can in good conscience sit back and let you deal with these matters alone. It is my responsibility. Our responsibility." Leto gestured towards Ghanima.

"If you take the throne you cannot treat enemies as friends simply for the sake of your own curiosity."

"It is not curiosity that draws me to Shael." Ariana, who stood silently behind her mother, absorbed these words and like her mentat father, ran through the facts and tried to compute a solution. She was not a mentat, but years of being under his care and tutelage had taught her some valuable lessons.

_They make their objective clear, _she thought. _Obviously there is something more behind it. But who is Shael? Why this girl, this Bene Gesserit? Surely there are others, better trained, or more attractive. She is somehow linked to us. By blood or by history, she is part of the myth of Muad'ib. _Ariana was generally quiet in council meetings and discussions. She followed the train of her thoughts and absorbed information. She did not argue aggressively like her mother, or plead for order like her father. She processed information faster than Irulan recorded it down.

"Draws you to her? Surely you don't intend to let this girl any closer to us," Duncan spoke up. "There can't be any reason for her that doesn't involve harming the Atreides."

"You're right, of course, dear Duncan, but my motives outweigh theirs." Duncan nodded.

"Constant watch on her then," he said. "I will see to it personally."

"I invited them here to sign a treaty and make trade deals," Alia said. "Not implant themselves in the palace, in the bed of royal subject."

"Your thoughts move a little too fast, Aunt," Ghanima said. "This is only the beginning. Let this play out for awhile. Trust us."

"Ariana?" Leto turned to his cousin. He let his eyes lock onto hers. He could feel her desire seeping through her words and movements. Of course, he desired her as well. She was beautiful, intelligent, strong…but she was also a danger, a question mark in every tale of the future. They could never see her, when they tried to look to the future. She was there, they could feel her, but her destiny was unknown. Leto intended to make her his wife when he became emperor, if she was loyal, to bind the Atreides legacy in strength and calm any ambitions to become ruler on her own. Knowing her children would continue the line would satiate her ambitions, he thought.

"Yes, Leto?"

"What do you think of this? My sheltering of the girl? Do you think I open myself up to plots and machinations?

"You are always open to it. That cannot be helped?"

"What do you think of Shael?"

"I think she is a pawn."

"My daughter is right," Alia spoke. "She is unimportant on her own. Just a Bene Gesserit protégé."

"I didn't say she was unimportant," Ariana protested. "There may be more to her than even she knows."

"Shall I let her get close?" Leto asked, enjoying the thrall he knew his words would hold over Ariana. For a moment, Ariana pictured herself and Leto entwined, legs wrapped around each other, his hands in her hair and on her stomach, touching the child inside. But the next image was the palace in ruins, her father pushed into an axlotl tank, Alia leading an army of Fremen across Arrakeen, Leto dying in her arms.

"Yes," Ariana answered. "Not just close. You should take her as your mistress."

Jessica found her daughter, pouring over documents, her hair swept up and her brow furrowed.

"Alia," Jessica said quietly. Alia lifted her head, surprised.

"Oh, Mother, I didn't hear you come in." _Strange, _Jessica thought._ Not aware, not in tune with her abilities._

"I'm sorry I told you not to make a big ceremony of my arrival. I just couldn't bear all that ritual. All I want is to see my grandchildren. And you."

"We have delayed the ceremony, Mother, not cancelled it. You can't hide from the Atreides legacy. People are already surrounding the palace, chanting and praying. You can't ignore them."

"Maybe I am selfish, but I don't care about _them_. Leto will be emperor soon. I want to make sure he's stable, ready…"

"Not an abomination?" Alia countered.

"Yes."

"Why now? Why hide away on Caladan all these years with your Gurney Halleck and denying your obligations?"

"Alia," Jessica said firmly. "I love you. But I won't let you tear me apart. I couldn't be here. You wouldn't have wanted to deal with the complications I bring. The competition. I'm not a part of this. I was the catalyst, I started this chain by having a son instead of a daughter. But I don't want to be part of this myth. I just want home, family, loving memories of my duke to comfort me. I couldn't have that here. Here it is plots and conspiracies and everything is a question of loyalty. I just want home."

"You just wanted to hide," Alia sneered. _What has happened to my girl? Leto's daughter? Where is her spirit, her goodness, her unwavering strength? Who is this bitter angry woman set to steal a throne?_

"Where are my grandchildren?" Jessica asked.

"Leto is with that Bene Gesserit whore," Alia answered. "Ghanima is getting ready to leave for Sietch Tabr with Stilgar."

"And Ariana?"

"Oh? You care for my child too? Ariana is in her quarters. You'll find her easily enough."

"Alia, I want to help you."

"I don't need your help. I need you gone, I'm trying to work."

"As you wish, daughter."

Alia stretched her arms and let down her hair after her mother left. Rubbing her temples, she wondered when her head would quiet down. She longed for privacy. Though Jessica in the flesh had left the room, the Jessica in her mind wanted to talk more.

"Leave me alone," Alia grumbled.

_Abomination! They screeched. The voices of Reverend Mothers of the past. Destroy this beastly child! She must be stopped!_

"Leave me alone!"

_Alia! Alia! We need desert power. Alia, why won't you listen. Sister, the time has come. Alia, I love you. Don't listen to him daughter! I want to kill you Atreides scum. Abomination! I wish I knew you. Alia!_

She waited for him to come, as he always did, to block out the noise and bring her peace. His voice echoed throughout her body quieting down the voices in her skull.

"Grandfather?" she called out feebly.

_Yes, darling. They're gone._

"Thank you."

_So that bitch, my favorite little bastard daughter has come back to push you off the throne._

"She wants to see her grandchildren."

_Don't be stupid, darling, she wants to hand Leto all that you have fought for. _

"He is the rightful heir."

_Why? Because he is the male descendent? Alia, the world is too cruel to pay attention to such senseless tradition. You are Leto's child just as much as your wretched brother was. Why should the son of a Fremen whore rule the universe? He is too dangerous. You, darling, you have held this all together for over a decade. Shouldn't this be your reward?_

"Paul would have wanted his son to rule, but…Leto has a dangerous mind."

_Of course he does, darling. That's why he must be taken care of. As well as the others._

"All of them? Ghanima? Ariana? Duncan?"

_Perhaps your silly child can live. She is worth nothing to any of them anyway. And your blind husband. But the twins must be destroyed. We can make it look like an accident._

"No! I love them!" Alia shut her eyes, trying to remember what life was before the voices became so loud. She remembered Leto as a baby crawling through the palace, the first time Ghanima put on a stillsuit and declared she was venturing out into the desert. And Ariana. Small hands clutching her mother. Dark eyes, that no one on Dune has.

_It is for the good of the empire, my child. You must trust no one with this task. Learn from my experience. You want something done you must do it yourself._

Then he was gone, and Alia was left struggling to wrench memories from an empty mind.


	4. Chapter 4

"Do you remember any life besides your Bene Gesserit training?" Leto asked, as he led Shael through the indoor conservatory, kept alive and thriving all these years for some symbolic purpose he no longer thought mattered, Shael bit her lip thoughtfully, a gesture Leto knew was meant to draw attention to her small, red mouth.

"Not usually," she answered. "But sometimes, when I consume the spice I remember some images."

"What images?"

"A mother, beautiful but distant. She watches me, but does not touch me."

"And a father?"

"No, nothing.

"Did you grow up on Wallach IX?"

"Mostly." Leto considered her words, knowing there must be some secret or long winding trail to her origins. The Bene Gesserit didn't train just anyone. And her blood had to be pure and regal for them to be pushing so hard for Leto to be with her.

It had been a number of weeks and Allere and Mishka remained in the palace, albeit discreetly as they watched their young protégé. Leto enjoyed their confusion, their searching glances. They had expected a fight, for him to reject their offering.

Or had they? Leto sensed machinations than went beyond simple seduction and reproduction. Plots that Shael had no knowledge of.

Not that she was simple by any means. She feigned innocence while dropping sly hints of sexuality. An uncovered arm, a quick touch, she excelled at finding ways to make him notice her. Yet in all other ways she remained a child. Obedient to her superiors and unaware of the depth of disloyalties around her.

"I am surprised you haven't married yet," Shael said coquettishly. "Taking over the throne so soon and yet you have not begun your dynasty. All of the Atreides are without heirs.

"But yet there are so many of us," Leto replied, fingering a satiny, pink flower hanging demurely from a vine. How Jessica treasured this place as some lost symbol of her tragic marriage. Yet flowers bloomed profusely across Arakeen but her eyes failed to notice. All she saw was the cold desert and one vibrant oasis in the middle.

"Four of us to be reckoned with," he continued, allowing a touch of menace in his voice. "Five if you count Jessica and you should."

"And all your devotees. The loyal Stilgar, charming Gurney Halleck, enduring Duncan, and poor, rejected Irulan. Are they to be reckoned with as well?"

"They are all Atreides through and through," Leto answered. "So yes, they are watching you, waiting for a sign of your true motives."

"You know my true motives." Shael lowered her eyes demurely. "We have made no secret of that. They want me pregnant with your child. Perhaps even for you to marry me."

"And you say this so clearly. Am I to fall victim to your plans by being impressed by your honesty?"

"No," Shael said. "We cannot hope to fool you. So I tell the truth. But truly, the truth is not so horrid. I would make a suitable wife. Of course I would remain devoted to the sisters but you could trust that I would not seek to harm you nor any of your family. I could work as an emissary between you and the sisters. And of course, I would bear a child that would be fit to rule."

"Fit to rule?" Leto laughed and leaned in close to her, his all blue eyes peering into her face. She felt slightly frightened by his intensity but remembered her training to calm herself. "Who is fit to rule? Was Muad'dib? His desert now has to defend itself from his followers. His Fremen retreat further back than ever before, manifesting a new disgust of their own planet. The jihad rages on, millions bow to it, letting their blood run across the land. Would you call that fit?"

"That was what was and meant to be. We can only look to the future. You can be what your father wasn't, have the strength to do what he didn't."

"And what didn't he do?"

"Uphold order. He laid out his revenge against the Corrinos and destroyed civilization as we knew it. But now everyone is hateful and resentful of Atreides rule. They want compromise. Dueling powers so that they may know their fates do not fall under one man whims. Have the power to simply give up some it." Leto kissed her hard on the mouth, impressed by her words. He saw wisdom in them, and not just a wisdom meant to corrupt and corrode him.

"I do not believe you truly mean to harm me," he said. "It is not in your nature. But Mishka and Allere mean to harm you. They do not want you to live through this."

"They are my only family," Shael protested and Leto placed a finger to her lips.

"Ah, that is the problem. They are not family. Nor friends. But I promise you, by the end you will know who is."

Jessica watched Ghanima thread a small needle through a square of fabric and smiled.

"I am glad you are not spoiled," she said, gesturing to her granddaughter's work. "I am glad you are Fremen." Ghanima considered this thoughtfully.

"But yet you ran away," she said. "You didn't stay with them. You ran away to your Caladan, your rich, cold waters and green fields."

"I didn't run to anything," Jessica replied. "I ran from."

"From what?"

"The past."

"But the past is always present, Grandmother. You know this better than anyone." Jessica smiled at this and lifted a hand to Ghanima's face.

"Yes, I suppose it is. I can see when I look at you. You are more Chani than Paul, you know that?"

"Yes. But Leto is our father through and through. He thinks to save us all."

"And what do you think to do?"

"I want to many things. To know you. To bring back the desert. To save Alia. But how do we undo what is done?" Jessica felt a shudder run through her.

"Does Alia need to be saved?"

"Surely, you know the answer." They remained silent for a moment and Ghanima continued threading her needle.

"What about your cousin?"

"Do you want me to tell you about Ariana, Grandmother?" Jessica felt a strange sensation at the sound of her other granddaughter's name. A mixture of regret, curiosity and perhaps even fear washed over her. Who was Ariana? They had barely written through the years. None of Ghanima's long script or Leto's short but revealing witticisms. Alia had always taken care to be vague about her only child and the few times Jessica had seen her laid scattered throughout her mind like a puzzle. Even on this recent visit, she had barely seen the statuesque, yet somber beauty. Alia's face, yes, but Duncan's deep set eyes.

"If Alia falls, will Ariana follow her?" Jessica asked unsteadily, fearing the wrong choice of words.

"No," Ghanima replied. "She and her mother are separate. Almost isolated. Her path lies in the fate of her father."

"Why did Alia not love her own child?" Jessica asked. She sensed it somehow, in her daughter's reticence. A strange bridge between them.

"She does," Ghanima argued. "This woman is not your Alia. But would you even know her if she was?"

"Ghanima!"

"It's true, Grandmother, those feeling you have about the neglect you've inflicted upon your only daughter. You know it's true that you have wished her away at times, you have feared for her and of her, you have blamed her for knowing you too well. But she did what she could. She did what no one else did. What you didn't. She kept us safe.

"I would have…" Jessica faltered.

"Only you didn't. You hates this place too much. And I understand." Ghanima's voice grew softer, more imploring. "Who could blame you? But you must remember that Alia didn't run away. Nor did Irulan. Irulan! Who had every reason to shun us and cower in exile with her sisters on Salusa Secundus. But no, Irulan stayed. As did Duncan, as did Stilgar. When the time comes for you to betray your own daughter, when the time comes for you to choose the right path, remember who stayed."

_That Bene Gesserit whore is seducing him right now. As we speak. Giving him an heir. And where will that leave you and your tainted daughter? Dead! Cursed! Vanished!_

You think all Bene Gesserit are whores, Grandfather. You hate anyone with any power because you have none.

_Don't I, darling? Are you sure?_

You are nothing without me. Without my body.

_Ah, but it is you who need me. Who has given you the strength to put plans in motion? Who has removed you from the influence of that worthless husband?_

I love Duncan.

_You love Duncan while you slip between the sheets of your priests, while you find narrow hallways, while you press your back up against the wall and wail._

Don't be crude.

_You love my crudeness. It becomes you, they all are in awe of how beautiful malice has made you. I unleashed the beast Alia, but it was there all along._

What would you have me do?

_Get rid of all these meaningless sycophants. Who is Stilgar and why does he live? Why does a pack of witches roam your halls?_

They all serve a purpose.

_Death is a purpose, dear girl. A very noble, necessary purpose. If Leto rules, you will die. If you kill him, you will rule. Which purpose would you serve?_

Alia shook her head forcefully to clear her raging thoughts. Why did they trouble her so? Strange fragments running through her mind. Voices from the past.

A raspy voice reminded her that the Council was meeting. Stilgar spoke sternly, his figure a statue of strength.

"Crushing the rebels with force will only create more rebels," he intoned and Alia remembered how he had told her stories as a child. The only father she had known in the world outside her mind.

"Then how will we crush them?" She spoke up. "With riches and spice? Spoil them into loving us? No, we must eradicate them."

"Stilgar has a point," Leto said and she glared at his cocky smile. The dreadful Shael sat by his side. _See how he has already triumphed over him? He cannot be without her. _"Our brute force is what they rebel against. We only prove them right with more bloodshed. My father would agree."

"Paul killed billions of people, Leto," Alia replied. "He believed in power by force." _Such arrogance! Such conceit!_

"When necessary," Ariana said. "And force isn't necessary here. We can compromise."

"Compromise could make us appear weak," Duncan supplied, glancing over at his wife. "This is what Alia fears." _Don't assume! You know nothing, ghola!_

"What they fear is the issue," Leto argued. "And how we use it." He smiled at Shael. "Do you have anything to add? I brought you here for a reason."

"I think you need to turn them on each other," she said. "Favor the loyal, plant seeds of distrust between them. The loyal will crush the rebels and you will be left with Fremen who will fight for you."

"Or they will crush each other and we will be left with nothing," Ariana noted. "But this might be something you want, Shael."

"Why would I want to destroy the Fremen? The life force of Arrakis? One needs their support to reign. Shaddam IV learned that the hard way." At this she glanced at Irulan, who sat tight-lipped and silent, taking meticulous notes.

"We must get rid of them!" Alia slammed her fist down on the table. "There is no discussion I am the Regent and this is my command." _Very good darling, good start. _

"Careful, Aunt," Leto said warily. "The title of Regent only lasts so long. And then what will you be?" She glared at him her eyes wide and bright with anger. Leto stared back with equal ferocity. _You see darling? You see how he challenges you? He must be undone._


	5. Chapter 5

Irulan stole across the courtyard, stepping lightly in her satin shoes. Her long, violet nightgown rustled around her petite frame. Alia scolded her for such elegant clothes, such trifles in the face of Muad'dib's legacy.

"You have to put on a show of decency and propriety. You are his widow," she said sternly. "If not to us and to his children, but to his followers. They imagine you had a rich and happy marriage."

"With another woman's children," Irulan pointed out, hurt by Alia's words. It's not that she minded her task of official Atreides widow, but she felt her own habits should not be constricted in the process. Hadn't she given up all she knew? Hadn't she stayed here in this wasteland all these years? Now she must give up her mink coats and satin shoes as well? When would her sacrifices be enough?

"All rulers have concubines," Alia grimaced. "It does not mean to them what it means to you."

Concubines, yes. And as Irulan walked discreetly to Lady Jessica's chamber a sense of irony pervaded her thoughts. Here she was again, a pawn stuck in between wavering between different points of danger. No power but what the beloved concubine would allow. She felt humiliated that all this time in the castle and she was still treated by some as another Corrino traitor.

The moment Jessica opened the door and showed her aging face that so resembled Ghanima's, Irulan felt her resentment wash away. It was worth it after all, to be here to protect them in any small way she could. Not for a moment could she regret throwing herself in the fire to shield the twins. They carried the seeds of all possible futures. And even more than that, they were hers. They were the children she had been denied. She would always feel that it was her fault that Chani was gone, that she had somehow wished it into existence even if Paul had stated before his death that there was no other way it could have been. And so she owed them her life, her mothering, her servitude. She owed Paul their safety.

"Irulan!" Jessica ushered her in and closed the door. "I'm glad you've come." Irulan studied her face to find the truth in this. She wasn't sure how Jessica felt about her, the stepmother to her grandchildren. Perhaps Jessica only saw her as everyone else did. A barren tool.

"I had to come," she answered. "Anything I can do to guarantee the safety of Muad'dib's children, I must do." Jessica's eyes glittered.

"I know. I know you have done this from the beginning. You have been there from their birth and on. Chani would be grateful." Irulan pictured her former rival's dark, fierce eyes and shivered. She hoped Chani would be happy that her children had a protector, but perhaps she was repulsed that the protector was a Bene Gesserit princess.

"Chani is gone. Leto and Ghanima are alive. Therefore they are our concern." She adopted a brisk, business-like tone to hide her nervousness.

"And Ariana." Jessica frowned. "I know that the twins are your charges, but surely Ariana deserves our thoughts as well."

"She is not in immediate danger,' Irulan argued. "And if Leto can secure his throne, she will be safe. He would never allow harm to come to her." The validity of this statement had more weight with her than Jessica. Jessica had not witnessed the glances between the cousins, or the long walks in Arrakeen.

"Still she is part of this. What is your plan?"

"We need to get them out of here as soon as possible. All three of them, if that is your wish. But we must take them and go. They are not safe here."

"Leto will refuse." Irulan sighed.

"We can take Shael as well if that will convince him. She will be less of a threat without her sisters to influence her."

"Stilgar will side with you. He no longer trusts Alia."

"And you?"

"I will remain here so that Alia does not feel abandoned…if there is an Alia to be reached anymore, I will try."

"I wonder if Duncan…" Irulan mused. "Rumors fly around the palace. Alia has taken up with some of her priests and she is not being very discreet. They even say she might be pregnant."

"Alia is not that stupid," Jessica said. "Or whichever Harkonnen or Atreides voice inside. A pregnancy with some nameless priest would solve nothing. If that is her scheme she will try another way. Not Duncan, obviously."

"Are you sure you want to be left alone with Alia and the Bene Gesserit?"

"You forget I am Bene Gesserit." Jessica pushed her towards the door gently. "I will tell Ariana. You tell Stilgar and the twins. Leave tomorrow, don't wait. The situation here is rapidly collapsing." Irulan slipped out the door, staying close to the walls. As she made her way down the hallway she heard footsteps behind her and whirled around. A gloved hand came up quickly to her face but she blocked it with a steady arm. She still remembered her training. Another body came up behind her, grabbing her waist and trying to pick her up. She let out a kick and felt it connect with his shin. She tried to scream but a hand on her mouth silenced her. She bit into it and tasted blood and though her arms continued to block her face, she knew she was outmatched.

Then Ariana was beside her, suddenly, ripping the cloaked figure off and throwing him against the wall. Her hands worked in a blur, knocking two figures on to the floor.

"Come," she commanded, grabbing Irulan's arm and pulling her down a corridor. They kept running until they reached Ariana's quarters. She shoved Irulan in and locked the door behind them.

"They won't risk getting us in here," she said breathlessly. "I have my own security whereas my mother put Jessica in a room with none." Irulan was awed by the calm indifference with which Ariana spoke about her mother.

"Why, what are they doing?" Irulan sputtered, feeling cowed and childish. She was supposed to be able to handle herself. Hadn't she been doing it all these years? Ariana sensed her disappointment.

"You couldn't have known it would be tonight," she said. "But you knew it would be coming. Isn't that why you were with Jessica? Plotting your escape?"

"Yes. It was supposed to be tomorrow. But I suppose now we should move faster…"

"Yes, you should. My mother…Alia wanted to kill Jessica and blame the rebels. She wanted to incite the undecided Fremen in the middle against them."

"But not me. The Fremen wouldn't rally for me…then why…?" Her voice trailed off and a wave of bitterness threatened to choke her as she realized her own superfluous role in these schemes.

"She just wanted you out of the way," Ariana confirmed quietly. "One less thing standing in between her and Leto." Irulan looked at the girl, wondering how they had existed for so long in the same household while barely knowing each other. There had been affection in the past, when Ariana was young but somehow that had faded and they had remained fairly indifferent. Ariana never sought her out like Ghanima or teased her like Leto. For the first time Irulan considered whether she had failed in her task to protect Paul's children. Shouldn't Ariana be considered one of them as well? Not directly, but still part of his legacy.

"I'm sorry," Irulan said. "I failed you, I didn't protect you. I just thought- you had Alia before. And Duncan."

"I didn't need protecting," Ariana replied. "Neither did Leto or Ghanima. What you provided us was more than protection and by the end you will know how much we valued it." She placed a cold, yet comforting hand on Irulan's shoulder. "You are part of this. Don't let anyone convince you differently. Stay with us." Irulan looked up tearfully.

"What should I do?" She asked. Ariana smiled grimly.

"Get Ghanima. I will see to Leto and his new acquaintance."

"And Jessica?"

"She wanted to stay behind, didn't she? She'll have her wish ."

Ariana knocked on Leto's door, her face calm but her inner thoughts in turmoil. She was afraid, though she controlled it carefully with her Bene Gesserit training. What use was fear to them now?

Leto opened the door cautiously, his naked form glistening in the dark. Ariana looked away.

"Get dressed."

"We're leaving now," he stated. "I already told Stilgar. A 'thopter is ready and waiting for us." Ariana felt dismayed for a moment that again he was one step ahead of her. Leto threw on a dressing gown and beckoned her in.

"Irulan was just attacked."

"Alia moves fast."

"My father will be next."

"Not if he is with us." Leto sat next to her, placing a hand on her neck.

"It is all happening as it should," he said. "There is no other way. We must get to safety."

"And then what?"

"Then we undo her. Killing her would solve nothing."

"Then she is truly gone?"

"You know she is." Ariana sighed and laid her head against his chest, feeling his heart beating rapidly.

"You were already awake," she accused him angrily. Leto smiled.

"Is insomnia a crime?"

"No, but this wasn't insomnia. Shael was here."

"This surprises you? She pushed him away from her.

"Surprises me that you would be so reckless. What can be gained from allowing her simple and inelegant seduction?"

"A link to my enemies. By caving they think I am theirs. And a worthy heir. Why not with her? I am not my father, I have not found my soul's mate so easily."

"There are other methods to conceive an heir." She looked up at him meaningfully, knowing that he already knew her desire. Surely her sense of the same thoughts in him was wrong. She had been here all along and yet not a whisper had passed between them of the potential of what they could create.

"That would be even more dangerous." Suddenly his lips were on hers, rough and insistent, tasting of spice. She felt her body responding, a warmth rising to her cheeks. Then he pulled away, laughing.

"This is what you want then?"

"You know that it always has been."

"But it's not love."

"It is partly love." Ariana felt a flush rise up her neck. "What are your arguments against it? What can Shael give you?"

"She is part of us, our bloodline. She has a right to mother an heir."

"What do you mean? She is not Atreides."

"No." Leto kissed her again, this time softer. "I would, Ariana, if I were free to do as I wished. But my destiny is with Shael. They think they brought her to me, that they instigated this. But Shael was bound to cross my path sooner or later. I would have sought her out."

"But why?" Ariana strained her vision, reaching as far as she could see to determine the mystery behind Leto's mystery. But she only saw the vast desert, disappearing into the ground.

"It does not matter at the moment. It will come out when the time is right."

"Do you love her?"

"Did my father love Irulan? No, perhaps that is not the right comparison for I do love Shael. In one of the only ways the preborn can love." He kissed her once more and she knew it would be the last time, at least in that instance. "But no Ariana, if that is the answer you seek. Not love, not the way I can see us being if we let ourselves. Does this make you happy?"

"No." She stood up and walked to the door. "I've decided that I'm staying. She's my mother. I must see this through to the end. In the 'thopter. In a half hour. Bring your destiny."

Alia stormed into her husband's chambers, arousing him from a deep sleep.

"Where are they?"

"What do you mean, Alia?" He used her name purposefully, hoping for any way to connect to her, to awaken the person within,

"Leto, Ghanima, that Bene Gesserit wench. Irulan, all of them gone."

"And our daughter?"

"She stayed. But you aren't surprised are you? You helped plan this?" _And you, _Duncan thought. _You smell of other men. Your voice is not your own. Your hands move like they belong to a stranger._

"It will make things simpler if they are gone."

"How, Duncan?" Alia asked, her voice strung with revulsion. "How is it simpler to have the future rulers of the empire holed up in a sietch plotting against their aunt and protector?"

"Perhaps they are not plotting."

"Don't be stupid. From the minute that my mother set foot on Arrakis she has been searching for a way to gain control. Now she is holding them hostage."

"Then let's use it to our advantage," Duncan replied, unable to believe his own words. Was it right to play both sides? Would it work? If he allowed Alia to think he was plotting with her, perhaps he could lure her into a trap. And it would allow the children to remain safe.

"To what end?" Duncan searched his mind. How to deflect her?

"Wensicia," he answered quickly.

"What? What does that Corrino shrew have to do with us?"

"You know she has been in contact with Irulan." Duncan had read the letters himself, unwilling to risk any collaboration between the sisters.

"Do you suspect something?" Alia's lip curled menacingly.

"Not of Irulan."

"Then what's the point? The end game?"

"She wants to marry Ghanima to her son Farad'n."

"The royal niece to some Corrino bastard? Even you must know that's preposterous, Duncan. What does Farad'n have to offer Ghanima but a ruined kingdom on a wasteland planet?"

"Arrakis was once a wasteland," Duncan reminded her. "Things are not always as they appear on the surface. True enough of the young prince. They say he reads histories and writes like his aunt Irulan. Intelligent, handsome. Would Ghanima be so unlucky?"

"Her potential would be squandered. Wasting away as a bastard's wife on some hellish planet doesn't quite live up to the destiny she is owed as an Atreides."

"You are aware that Ghanima is also a bastard?"

"Of the most powerful man who ever lived. Not a Corrino hag and some nameless Sardauker." Alia laughed, a vicious cackle tumbling out her curved mouth. "They say it was rape but I call foul. Who would want Wensicia so badly as to force her? She's more detestable than Irulan."

"The wedding doesn't need to happen. But give her hope that it will. Distract her. Send the Lady Jessica as an envoy to plan the match." This one was a gamble, he knew. But Jessica could handle herself against Corrino treachery. He wasn't so sure about Alia's madness.

"I have a better idea." His wife brightened. "Invite them here. Bring the serpent to the hawk. Show them how hospitable we can be. And if they are cooperate? We will give them Ariana."

"Why not you then? A woman of your charms…well Farad'n would not be able to resist!"

"I have thought of it," Alia answered pensively. "They would jump at the chance, wouldn't they? But no Ariana needs a place if she is to survive." Duncan wondered if any part of this had to do with their daughter's safety. Could Alia be Abomination and Mother as well?

"My daughter will never be ruling a kingdom. She will be safe in Corrino obscurity and she can neutralize them. Send word to them. Get them here." She swept out of the room, her emerald dress flowing against the door.

Stilgar led the way into the sietch with obvious ease at being in his home. Ghanima smiled at his jubilance and felt a stab of guilt that he had spent so much time in Arrakeen for their benefit.

"You must always wear this," Leto said patiently to Shael, who fiddled with the tube at her mouth. "The stillsuit is life." Shael glanced over at him with awe. This was a foreign world to her, despite all she'd read about the Fremen.

"These are your true people," she said. Leto smiled.

"They are. It starts with the Fremen and it ends with them."

"I thought it started with Muad'dib."

"Without Fremen, there would be no Muad'dib. Only Paul Atreides." Stilgar listened, though pretended not to. _Did I do right by this child? _He wondered, although Leto could no longer be called a child.

"Alia will not come after us," Ghanima remarked. "It would make her appear weak. She will say we are on some type of journey." She turned to Shael. "And what of your Bene Gesserit sisters? Will they try to recover you?"

"I am where my sisters want me to be."

"Of that I'm sure." Ghanima looked away. She had barely spoken to her brother's mistress. "Will they be safe?"

"They are older and wiser than I." Stilgar interrupted their conversation.

"It does not feel so long since I was here," he said thoughtfully. "But it feels like eons."

"The still suit still fits," Leto grinned. "And it looks good on you, Stil." He turned to Shael and Ghanima, with Irulan trailing close behind.

"My father is glad we are here together," he said, as he took a swig of flat water from his suit.


End file.
